Holi Festival 2027: Date, Story, Traditions and How India Celebrates

Holi is the festival that marks the end of winter and the arrival of spring in India. It runs over two days. The first evening is Holika Dahan, when neighbourhoods light a bonfire. The next morning is Rangwali Holi, when people cover each other in gulal, spray coloured water and eat too many gujiyas. In 2027 the main day of Holi falls on Monday, 22 March.

This guide covers the Holi 2027 date and muhurat, the stories behind the festival, what happens on each of the two days, how different states play Holi, the food and how to celebrate without ruining your skin or someone else's day.

When is Holi in 2027?

Holi follows the Hindu lunar calendar. Holika Dahan is performed on the evening of Phalguna Purnima, the full moon of the month of Phalguna, and colour play happens the following morning on Chaitra Krishna Pratipada.

Event	Date	Tithi
Holika Dahan (Chhoti Holi)	Sunday, 21 March 2027	Phalguna Purnima, evening
Rangwali Holi (Dhulandi)	Monday, 22 March 2027	Chaitra Krishna Pratipada
Rang Panchami (Maharashtra, MP)	Friday, 26 March 2027	Chaitra Krishna Panchami

For 2027, Purnima tithi begins on the evening of 21 March at roughly 6:21 pm in Delhi and ends around 4:13 pm on 22 March. Since Purnima is active during Pradosh Kaal on the 21st, most panchangs fix Holika Dahan for that evening, with a muhurat window of about 6:33 pm to 8:55 pm for Delhi. Bhadra falls after midnight, so it does not block the evening slot.

A small number of panchangs, including Prokerala, push the bonfire to 22 March and colours to 23 March. The large majority of published calendars, government holiday lists and temple committees are going with 21 and 22 March. Check the panchang your family or local temple actually uses before making travel plans, and check again in early March, because regional almanacs do revise these dates.

Why is Holi celebrated? The stories behind the festival

Three different legends are tied to Holi, and which one people talk about depends on where in India you are.

Prahlad, Holika and the bonfire

The asura king Hiranyakashipu had won a boon that made him nearly impossible to kill. He demanded that everyone worship him instead of the gods. His own son Prahlad refused and kept praying to Vishnu. After several failed attempts to kill the boy, Hiranyakashipu turned to his sister Holika, who had a cloak that protected her from fire. She sat in a pyre with Prahlad on her lap. The cloak flew off her and onto the boy. Holika burned, Prahlad walked out unharmed, and Vishnu later killed Hiranyakashipu in his Narasimha form.

This is the story people remember when they light the Holika Dahan fire. The pyre is Holika. The ash that people collect the next morning is taken as a sign that the evil has already been burned.

Krishna, Radha and the colours

In the Braj region around Mathura, Holi is about Krishna. The story goes that Krishna, dark-skinned, complained to his mother Yashoda that Radha was fair and he was not. Yashoda told him to colour Radha's face any shade he liked. He did, and the gopis and cowherds of Vrindavan joined in. That is where the playful, teasing style of Braj Holi comes from, and why the festival in this part of India starts more than a week before everyone else's.

Kamadeva and Shiva

In Tamil Nadu and parts of Andhra Pradesh, the day is Kama Dahanam. Kamadeva, the god of love, shot an arrow at Shiva to break his meditation so that Shiva would marry Parvati. Shiva opened his third eye and burned Kamadeva to ash. Rati, Kamadeva's wife, prayed until Shiva restored him. The bonfire here represents Kamadeva's sacrifice, and the songs are about Rati's grief rather than Prahlad.

The two days of Holi, and what happens on each

Day one: Holika Dahan or Chhoti Holi

Preparation starts days before. Colonies and villages collect wood, dry cow dung cakes and old furniture into a pyre at a crossroads or open ground. Some places put an effigy of Holika on top, sometimes with a small Prahlad figure that is pulled out before lighting.

After sunset, within the muhurat, the pyre is lit. What people typically do:

•         Walk around the fire three, five or seven times (parikrama) with a lota of water, pouring a little with each round.

•         Offer raw cotton thread wound around the pyre, along with rice, coconut, jaggery, gram and wheat stalks.

•         Roast green wheat or barley ears in the fire and bring them home. In rural Uttar Pradesh and Haryana this roasted grain, called holi ki baali, is eaten the next morning.

•         Married women in North India often keep a fast until the puja is done. Some families perform a Thandi Holi puja for the household's welfare.

•         Carry a little ash home in the morning. It goes on the forehead or is kept near the door.

In Gujarat and Rajasthan the bonfire evening also involves singing and dancing late into the night. In Braj, Holika Dahan at Phalen village near Mathura is famous because a priest from the local family walks through the embers of the fire barefoot every year.

Day two: Rangwali Holi or Dhulandi

The morning belongs to the colours. Gulal is dry powder, usually applied to the face and hair. Wet colour is mixed in buckets and thrown or sprayed with pichkaris. Water balloons appear from balconies from about 8 am onwards, so nobody should walk under one wearing office clothes.

The usual sequence in a North Indian neighbourhood runs like this. People start with family at home, then move to the street or the colony park, then visit relatives and friends in the afternoon carrying a box of sweets. By 2 pm most people have bathed and changed, and the evening is for thandai, food and sitting around. The phrase everyone uses is bura na mano, Holi hai, which roughly means do not take offence, it is Holi.

Holi Milan gatherings happen over the following week. Housing societies, offices and political parties host them. They matter because they are where people who have fallen out during the year are expected to greet each other and move on.

How Holi is celebrated in different states of India

The bonfire and the colours are the common thread. Almost everything else changes from one region to the next.

Region	Local name	What makes it different
Barsana and Nandgaon, UP	Lathmar Holi	Women of Barsana beat the men of Nandgaon with sticks while the men shield themselves. Held about a week before the main day.
Vrindavan	Phoolon ki Holi	Flower petals instead of powder, played at Banke Bihari temple on Ekadashi before Holi.
Anandpur Sahib, Punjab	Hola Mohalla	Sikh festival started by Guru Gobind Singh. Mock battles, gatka and horse riding by Nihang Sikhs, the day after Holi.
Shantiniketan, West Bengal	Basanta Utsav	Started by Rabindranath Tagore at Visva-Bharati. Students in yellow, Rabindra Sangeet and dance before colour play.
Kumaon, Uttarakhand	Baithaki and Khadi Holi	Singing-based Holi that begins around Basant Panchami. Baithaki Holi is sung seated in classical ragas, Khadi Holi standing with dhol and hurka.
Bihar and eastern UP	Phaguwa	Bhojpuri folk songs called phagua, mud play in the morning, colours later. Malpua and dahi vada on the table.
Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh	Rang Panchami	Colour play happens five days after Holika Dahan. Indore's Ger procession is the best known.
Manipur	Yaosang	Six days long. Thabal Chongba, a moonlight folk dance, and sports tournaments.
Goa	Shigmo	Spring festival with street parades, folk dances like Ghode Modni and decorated floats.

The Braj Holi calendar deserves its own note because it is spread across roughly ten days. In 2027 the rough sequence, working back from the main day, is Laddu Holi at Barsana, then Lathmar Holi at Barsana and at Nandgaon on consecutive days, Phoolon ki Holi at Banke Bihari on Ekadashi, Chhadi Mar Holi at Gokul, then the widow Holi at Vrindavan's Gopinath temple, then Holika Dahan and Dhulandi. Huranga at Dauji temple in Baldeo follows the day after Holi, and Mathura's Holi procession runs on the main day itself. Confirm exact dates with the temple committees closer to March, as they announce them only a few weeks out.

What people eat on Holi

The menu is fairly consistent across North India, with regional additions.

•         Gujiya: a crescent-shaped pastry stuffed with khoya, dried fruit and coconut, deep fried and sometimes dipped in sugar syrup. This is the one sweet nobody skips.

•         Thandai: a chilled milk drink with almonds, fennel, poppy seeds, cardamom, rose petals and black pepper. Some households add bhang to a separate batch. It is worth knowing which jug is which.

•         Malpua: a fried pancake soaked in syrup, popular in Bihar and eastern UP, usually eaten with rabri.

•         Dahi bhalla: lentil dumplings in beaten curd with tamarind and mint chutney. A good counter to everything fried.

•         Kanji: fermented black carrot drink with mustard seeds, made a few days ahead in Delhi and Punjab households.

•         Puran poli: a jaggery and chana dal flatbread, standard on Holi and Rang Panchami tables in Maharashtra.

•         Bhang pakora and namak pare, plus whatever savoury the household usually fries.

How to celebrate Holi safely

Most of the problems on Holi come from three sources: bad colours, bad decisions with bhang, and water. All three are avoidable.

Colours

•         Buy herbal or natural gulal. Cheap synthetic colours can contain lead oxide, copper sulphate and mica, which cause rashes and eye irritation. Green and purple are usually the worst offenders.

•         Apply coconut or mustard oil to skin and hair the night before or the morning of. Colour washes off oiled skin far more easily.

•         Wear sunglasses or plain spectacles. Eye injuries from gulal and water balloons are the most common Holi complaint at hospital emergency departments.

•         Wear old cotton, full sleeves, and keep nails short and painted so colour does not settle under them.

•         Wash with plain water first and then a mild soap. Scrubbing with kerosene or petrol, which some people still do, causes more damage than the colour.

Bhang and alcohol

Bhang is legal in most states when sold through licensed shops and is traditional on Holi. It is also a lot stronger than people expect and takes an hour or more to take effect, which is why people take a second glass and regret it. Do not drive after it, do not give it to anyone without telling them, and keep it away from children and pets.

Water and animals

Dry Holi has become the norm in many housing societies because of water shortages in March. A single pichkari session can use several hundred litres. Street dogs and cows get coloured every year and synthetic colour makes them sick, so keep the gulal to people who have agreed to play.

Consent

Bura na mano, Holi hai is not a licence to grab strangers or force colour on someone who has said no. Police in Delhi, Mumbai and other cities run extra patrols on Holi morning specifically because of harassment complaints. If someone is not playing, leave them alone.

Holi outside India

Nepal celebrates Holi as Fagu Purnima, a day earlier in the hills than in the Terai, with concerts in Kathmandu and Pokhara. In Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Suriname the festival is called Phagwah and is a public holiday, carried there by Indian indentured workers in the nineteenth century. Mauritius and Fiji have large celebrations for the same reason. Colour runs and Holi-branded music festivals in the United States, Germany and Australia have borrowed the powder without the bonfire or the story, which is why many Indians abroad hold their own community events on the actual date instead.

Frequently asked questions about Holi

When is Holi in 2027?

Rangwali Holi is on Monday, 22 March 2027. Holika Dahan is the evening before, on Sunday, 21 March 2027.

Is Holi a public holiday in India?

Holi is a gazetted central government holiday, so banks, government offices and most schools are closed on the main day. Some states also give a holiday for Holika Dahan or Rang Panchami. Check your state's list.

What is the difference between Holika Dahan and Rangwali Holi?

Holika Dahan is the bonfire ritual on Purnima evening. Rangwali Holi, also called Dhulandi or Dhuleti, is the colour play the next morning.

Why is Holi called the festival of colours?

Because the main activity of the second day is applying gulal and coloured water to each other, a practice that comes from the Krishna and Radha story in Braj.

What should I wear for Holi?

White or light-coloured old cotton clothes, full sleeves if you can stand it, and footwear you do not mind losing. White shows the colours and is the traditional choice.

How long does Holi last?

Two days for most of India. Braj celebrates for over a week, Manipur's Yaosang runs six days, and Maharashtra plays colours on Rang Panchami, five days after the bonfire.

Can non-Hindus celebrate Holi?

Yes. Holi has been a community festival for a long time, and Hola Mohalla is a Sikh festival on the same dates. Anyone who turns up in old clothes is generally welcome.

Planning for Holi 2027

If you want to see Holi in Braj, book Mathura or Vrindavan accommodation by January, because the Lathmar Holi weekend sells out. If you are staying home, buy herbal colours a week ahead, since the good ones run out, and make the gujiya the day before. The bonfire is on the evening of Sunday 21 March, colours on Monday 22 March, and Holi Milan invitations will keep coming for a fortnight after that.